Memories
by Metal Flowers
Summary: When Max Ride was seven, her father rescued her and her brother Ari from the School. Now eleven years later, she has dreams of them. They are the ones that she used to lead, the ones that used to be her family. The only thing that she is sure that she remembers is a long, black feather. She finds one exactly like it in the street, but could that mean that they are here?
1. Feather

**Okay! I've decided, but I'm sad to say that I did a story topic that none of you actually suggested this one to me. I've just wanted to do this story topic for so long… What is it? Oh, you'll see…**

**Without Further Adieu,**

I lounged in my bed, not wanting to wake up. The bed just felt so comfortable, and I knew that I would never get used to not sleeping in a cage, though it has been years since I've been forced into one.

"Max, you have to wake up. We're going school shopping today," my father called from outside my door and then proceeded to threaten to come in. Upon hearing this, I jumped up from my bed.

"No!" I shrieked and leaned against the door as he slowly opened it. My voice was always laced with command, but I usually had no one to lead. I was used to leading _them_. They are black shadows in my dim memory. Sometimes, I will have nightmares about my past. I _want_ to remember, though. Therefore, when I wake up drenched in sweat from the terrible memory, I immediately pick up my sketchpad and pencil and jot down what I remember. I'd had a recurring nightmare for the past two weeks, but all I could ever recall when I woke up was a single long raven feather. A painting of that feather was in the center of my room, and it got more detailed every day. That feather _must_ have come from one of _them_. _They_ were people I could never remember, inside the cages that my father rescued me from.

What I'm sure about my past is that until I was seven, I lived in a cage at a place called The School. Not an actual School, per say, but a secret government facility. My biological father whisked me away from it and made us disappear. He had debated on whether to take all of my friends, but decided that it would make the School really want to track us. I mean, _one_ escaped mutant was no biggie, but _six_? That's just asking for trouble. Instead, father only took me and my half-brother Ari away. Now we live in Colorado, because who would ever look for us there?

I quickly dressed into a pair of faded jeans with grass stains on them, and a plain gray T-shirt that didn't show any noticeable stains or rips.

I opened the door to find father's surprised face. His name is Jeb Batchelder, but I had chosen my first and last name before I knew that we were related, so I decided to keep my old name as a link to the past. My name was Maximum Ride, like Sally Ride the astronaut.

"That was fast," Father said in faint surprise, "So, did you dream anything new?"

"I don't understand why you can't just _tell_ me who they are," I grouched instead of answering his question, "I mean, what harm could that do?"

"It would make you miss them more," father said simply before turning away and getting ready to wake Ari up. It would be his first day of high school, and my first day as a senior.

"Get ready or I'll take your phone away for a week," Jeb threatened through the door and I heard Ari groan in response. Ari was a sweet and adorable human. His spiky blond hair was slowly fading to a light brown and his was growing up strong and lean. I didn't look like father or Ari, to be honest. I think I got my looks from my mother, who I had yet to meet. My hair was a light brown with natural blond highlights, chocolate brown eyes, and Hispanic skin.

"When will you tell me about _them_?" I complained loudly, still on subject. I would never give up on this subject and father knew this.

"Fine, if I tell you _one_ miniscule detail, will you drop it for a month?" Father conditioned.

"Yes," I crossed my arms and stared at him, waiting. From this method, I had learned that there were five others in our group.

Jeb stared right back at me and with unusual heaviness, he sighed, "You called yourself the Flock."

"The Flock," I tested the name out, "I like it."

The government had tested on us and had mutated our DNA, which gave us wings. The Flock sounded like we were a family. Knowing this made me feel closer to the strangers who used to be my brothers and sisters.

Who knows? Maybe I'll break them out of the School someday…if they weren't already dead.

Ari was muttering incoherent words as he burst out of his room and bumped into father. Ari was as dressed as a guy could be, so I decided not to yell at him for being such a slob this morning.

Jeb tossed me a handful of granola bars as we stormed through the house and into his large car. We sang off key to rock and roll songs on the radio. I couldn't stand pop or rap, so we settled for the stations that we all liked, though they're usually clogged with static.

We arrived at Walmart, and Ari and I jumped out of father's minivan and into the store, racing each other to the school supplies. I won of course, my power was speed. Most mutants had powers, and I was no exception.

I waited for a minute at the school supplies section, tapping my foot as I waited for Ari to catch up.

"You're fast," a quiet voice said from behind me. I spun around and saw a tall boy behind me. That's strange, I swear no one was there before…The boy was even taller than me, had olive toned skin, dark black hair, and obsidian eyes.

"Y-yeah," I replied, then cursed myself out. I didn't stutter, "I mean, you surprised me. I didn't know that you were behind me."

"Not many people ever _do_ realize it," he smirked at some inside joke, but then restarted the old topic, "You might even be faster than me."

"Well, I _am_ faster than most people," I smirked at my own inside joke. Leave _him_ to figure that out!

"Are you going to go to Hedgesville High School, too?" he questioned, "I'm Nick Walker by the way."

"I'm Maximum Ride," I said easily, "And yeah, I'll be going there."

"Hm," Nick looked at me in confusion for a moment, "That name sounds familiar…"

I shrugged, "Well, I've lived here most of my life, so I don't think we've ever met before."

In fact, I'd _know_ if we'd met before, and I had the feeling that we'd known each other before as well. However, I'd remember Nick if we had met, but I couldn't.

Just then, Ari burst into the aisle, panting in exhaustion, "C'mon Max, you have to go easy on me sometimes!"

"Oh, hey Ari," I said in amusement, "I was just talking to…"

I trailed off as I looked behind me and saw no one there. The aisle of pencils and binders was completely empty except for Ari and I.

"You were talking to who?" Ari questioned and peered around me to search for someone.

"He…must have left," I concluded. In a daze, I picked out everything that I'd need for school, but shuddered when I went near the erasers. Even after years of being away from The School, I could never forget those beasts. You see, back at The School, they created other mutants called Erasers. They're humans that shift into wolves, like werewolves but nastier. Their main purpose is obvious, _to Erase_. They're often the main attraction in my nightmares, and they are the only thing about my past that I'd be glad to forget.

"They're just school supplies," Ari said gently, "You never have to see the wolf-like ones again."

I nodded blankly and added them to a basket that Ari had brought. I paid for all of our school supplies and we headed out with me carrying most of the stuff. That is, I _was_ carrying most of the stuff until I dropped it all in shock.

A long, shiny, and black raven feather –the one from my dream- had drifted along with the wind and landed right in front of me.

_They were here._


	2. Nudge

I hesitantly bent down and picked up the familiar feather. Ari's human hand yanked me back up as my fingers enclosed over it and he dragged me to the side of the road.

"Don't be an idiot, Max," he hissed at me in irritation, "You don't just sit in the middle of Walmart's parking lot."

I practically shoved the feather in his face, "Ari, one of _them_, they're here! One of them! Here!"

He inspected the feather before his irritation melted into sympathy, "Max, that just looks like a normal raven feather. You don't even know what _they_ look like."

"I had a dream!" I gripped his arm, "I remember this feather. I'd bet my life on it."

This feather…it was the link to other memories. I just had to learn to reach them. The mist in my memories was starting to clear.

Ari sighed and nodded, "I'm not getting your hopes up, but maybe. But don't tell Jeb. He might make us move or something, to keep you safe."

I smiled in thanks. I wouldn't have thought of that. Whenever Jeb saw a slightly familiar face, we'd change towns. The lengths that he goes to for me are astounding, though slightly absurd. I slipped the feather into one of my new notebooks and we walked to Jeb's car, which had been hidden between two big trucks.

We slid into the car, me in the passenger seat of course. Jeb started the car before looking at me carefully.

"Maximum, are you okay? You look a bit pale. You're not sick, are you? If you are, you'd probably miss the first day of school," Jeb told me in concern. I snorted. Avian mutants don't get sick. It's scientifically impossible.

I flipped my hair over my shoulder, "I'm not missing the first day! Nudge would kill me!"

Nudge was my best friend. She said that some old friends had given her that name, so I just used it. She has dark chocolate eyes, mocha skin, and dark brown hair with blond highlights. She's girly and a chatterbox, but we're best friends anyway. She's a year younger than me, but Nudge skipped a grade because of her perfect grades. Later, I learned that she just uses her amazing hacking skills to change her grades right before report cards come out. She's lived here almost as long as I have. Unfortunately, she's human. I have yet to see another mutant since we escaped so many years ago.

"Is Nudge spending the night? Won't her parents want to spend the night before school with her?" Jeb asked me with one eyebrow raised. He probably just wanted to know if he had to cook a mountain of food, since Nudge eats almost as much as I do.

I nodded and grimaced at the thought of the tortures awaiting me. Nudge would want to dress me up, and I had somehow complied. At least I hadn't completely succumbed to her bambi eyes. I had set some conditions saying that there was to be no makeup involved and that she could only dress me up in the things already in my closet.

Jeb drove us home and he and Ari hopped out while I put myself in the driver's seat. I had my license already, though I barely passed. There was something called a speed limit?

I drove about ten miles above the so called limit and got to Nudge's house in seven minutes. She lived in a two bedroom apartment with her two parents who basically ignored her. I had never met her parents. Nudge had told me some excuse that they were always busy, which I didn't believe. I wish that I could just whisk her away and have her live at my place.

Maybe I'll tell her about my wings someday…Eh, you never know. She could either be an Itex scientist or more likely, a human that will freak out and tell my secret, revealing that I'm still alive. That would be a big no-no.

"Max!" Nudge exclaimed as she slid into the passenger seat. Her face was lit up with excitement as she put her seatbelt on, "This is going to be so great! Do you think that this school year will be awesome? Ooh! Do you think that there will be any cute boys? Oh! Sorry. I forgot who I was talking to. You're like _antisocial_ when it comes to boys."

I smirked at her and her face cleared, leaving only shock. She made a small choking sound in the back of her throat, as if the words she wanted to say were clogging her ability to talk. Did I just make Nudge speechless? That would be a first.

"You-You met a boy?" she asked with her eyebrows raised, "Was he cute? Does he go to our school?"

I nodded and kept my eyes on the road as I drove home, "Yes, I met a boy. Yes, he was cute. And yes, he will go to our school. He's new here."

"ZOMG! ZOMG! ZOMG! I can't believe it! Maximum Ride met a _boy_!" Nudge squealed. Meanwhile, I pulled up in front of my large house and jumped out of it, hoping to avoid further questioning until later tonight. It was hardly a big deal. I live with Ari, and he counts as a boy, right?

Jeb opened the door for us, "Hey girls. I ordered some pizzas. They'll be here in an hour. Save a meat lover pizza for us, and the rest are yours. The money is on the counter. I have to go to work and Ari walked to his friend's house. Don't break anything, okay?"

Hopefully he ordered at least six pizzas, or his meat lover pizza will be gone by the time he comes back. As if eh read my mind, he gave me a knowing wink and walked past us. Nudge went inside first and I locked the door behind us.

"We have the house to ourselves," Nudge squealed and cornered me in…well, a corner. I straightened my back and loomed over her, but I felt really nervous. I didn't even know how I felt about the boy yet! I just wanted to prove Nudge wrong!

"Didn't you want to pick out my outfit?" I asked her cleverly. Immediately, she gasped and smiled widely before running up the stairs to get into my room. I sighed. Crisis avoided.

I followed her. My room had sky blue walls and cream carpeting. It had huge windows, so it always felt like I was out in the sky.

Nudge was peering at my newest painting, the one of the black feather, "That's pretty! I have _no_ idea how you do this stuff! I can't draw at all!"

I shrugged and she gave up on that subject and went to the part of my room that she was most comfortable in, the closet. I flopped down on my bed while she rifled through my clothes. Maybe if I just closed my eyes for a bit…

"Max! Wake up! You promised that I could put makeup on you!" Nudge whined as she shook me awake. Me, not being the fastest to wake up, didn't see a thing wrong with this statement. I didn't remember that I specifically told her _not_ to put makeup on me.  
"Yeah Nudge. Sure. Just give me five minutes," I grumbled but then shot straight up as I said that, "Wait! No!"

Nudge had her skinny arms crossed stubbornly, "Nope. You fell for it. It's your fault for falling asleep. Now, I'll put the makeup on you tomorrow. I promise, it won't be too much. Your clothes are already picked out. You get to see them tomorrow."

I groaned and flopped back onto the bed. Nudge laughed as she fell onto the bed beside me. We just layed there for awhile before Nudge rolled over onto her side and stared at me intently.

"So…who is this boy?" Nudge prodded me. She looked at me skeptically. I wasn't getting out of this, I knew. However, I partially wanted to tell Nudge everything. We were best friends.

I rolled my eyes and stared at my ceiling. It was covered with glow in the dark stars that I had gotten for my birthday, "His name is Nick Walker. He has longish black hair, olive skin, and gray eyes. He's the tall, dark, and silent type, I guess.:

Nudge chuckled loudly upon my description, which scared the crap out of me, "Tall, dark, and handsome? I thought that you'd go for your prince."

I blushed as red as a tomato, "Shut up, Nudge. There's nothing going on between me and Dylan. He's horrible and rude and a showoff!"

"Then why are you blushing?" Nudge poked me in the side and I rolled away from her. Dylan was the jock of the school. He had tanned skin, sandy blond hair, and carribean blue eyes. All of the girls loved him, but he loves to tease me. He's irritating.

"I wonder who'll win?" Nudge mused out loud, "Your prince? Or your knight in shining armor?"

"Will you stop making references to medieval times?" I complained, "Can't we just settle for the terms 'rich jerk' and 'mysterious new guy'?"

Those names weren't _much_ better, but they were. A little.

I sat up suddenly as an idea struck me, "Wait, what if we have classes together? Will he remember me? What if he-"

Nudge covered my mouth and snorted, "Isn't this situation a bit reversed? I get that it's your first crush –that you admit to yourself- but there's nothing to be worried about. You will probably have classes together, and he'll be glad that he knows someone to show him around. He will remember you. You're Maximum freaking Ride! "

I calmed down. She was right. I was obsessing over nothing. It's just…there was some bond between us. I didn't know how it was possible that I felt so close to him already, but I did. It's as if we already know each other.

Suddenly, the door swung open, revealing Ari. He was grinning cheekily and started to sing, "Max has a crush! Max has a crush! Max is in love! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage! Or in real life, first comes love, then comes a baby, then comes an unhappy marriage, and then comes a divorce!"

"That last version of the song didn't go together well," I groaned and tossed a pillow at his head. I used to throw baseballs, but Jeb then instructed me to only use _soft_ objects. He didn't want Ari going to the emergency rooms any more times than necessary.

"Who cares?" his grin stretched from ear to ear, "Does he go to our school? Can I embarrass you?"

"If you do, I'll dig out some of your old baby pictures. The ones you hate." I threatened him. He grimaced immediately.

"Um…yeah. I'll just…be going now," he quickly left the room and we heard his door slam shut. As if that would stop me.

Nudge snorted and flipped her highlighted hair, "Boys, you can't live with 'em, and you can't live without 'em."

I rolled my eyes. Nudge was such a drama queen. The doorbell rang and we collected the pizzas using Jeb's money. Jeb had been smart and gotten eight pizzas, ensuring that there would be one left for Ari and him. We stored that one in the refrigerator and inhaled the others. Some were cheese, some were pepperoni, and some were meat lovers. The pizzas were split even between us. Stuffed, we headed back upstairs. Nudge slept on an inflatable mattress that we always kept for her, and I covered myself in baby blue blankets that were on my bed.

"Night Max," Nudge yawned. I felt as though I've been hearing her voice for all of my life, though I've only known her half of it. Her breathing slowed, as did her heartbeat. She started to snore softly. Her content breathing lulled me to peaceful sleep.

Until the dream started.


	3. Nick

When Jeb rescued me from the School, he did something to my mind. He made sure that it blocked out major details, like faces or names. Some things slip through, like the feather. Sometimes, I hear voices.

_"Hey Max, if you're avian American when you go into the bathroom, and avian American when you come out, what are you when you're in the bathroom?" a boy beside me smirked. I looked over towards him, eager to see his face, but all I saw was mist._

_"Not this again," a voice –my voice, I realized- groaned, "I'm not being grumpy. I really don't need you to try to cheer me up."_

_"You sure sound grumpy," the boy argued, "And the answer is Eur-o-pean!"_

_"That's not funny at all! Where the heck do you learn there, anyway?" a younger version of me asked irritably. The mist cleared the slightest bit so that I could see myself. I was about four and had a disgusting looking cut on my left arm._

_"I'll just keep trying out different jokes, then!" the boy chuckled. The younger me flinched as the boy's hands wrapped a piece of cloth around her wound. I wish I could see his face…_

_"Done," the boy announced suddenly and leaned away, "You're all fixed up now. I won't have to bother you with those jokes anymore."_

_The younger version of me sighed in gratitude and leaned on his shoulder, "Thanks, F~~, you're the bestest best friend I could ever ask for."_

_Wait, what had I called him? It…started with F. Finnick? Fin? Felix? Maybe if I stayed just a bit longer, I'd find out._

"Max!" Nudge tossed me off of my bed and I woke with a gasp. Everything was woozy and there was a mocha-skinned angel leaning over me with a cheeky grin.

"Five more minutes," I groaned and shielded my eyes from the light. Damn, had Nudge really done that?

Nudge laughed and pulled me up. She tossed a pile of clothes to me and I put them on without a second thought. I yawned and fell into a light sleep and woke fifteen minutes later when Nudge was done with the light layer of makeup.

"Ugh. You're really tired today, aren't you?" she was the exact opposite of me: hyper, "I mean, you shouldn't be. It's the first day of school! And you get to see your knight in black armor today! Wasn't his name Nick? Why don't you look in the mirror to see how I did?"

I looked in a large mirror that hung on my wall and nodded in my approval. It wasn't anything too girly. I had on a creamy yellow T-shirt, a fake leather jacket that Jeb had gotten me a birthday or two ago, and jeans slightly ripped from battle practice with both Jeb and Ari. They never came close to winning. There was a touch of blush on my cheeks and clear lip gloss, but nothing else. I blinked in shock that Nudge hadn't gone overboard.

My best friend seemed to read my mind, "I didn't want to go too girly, because you're not girly and what if your crush got the wrong impression and thought that you were like me? Maybe he doesn't like girly girls. Maybe he likes down to earth girls, like you. Speaking of girly girls, do you like my outfit?"

Nudge was wearing a glittery, bubblegum pink tee with a sleeveless magenta jacket over it with jeans with rips that were made to be there. She was also wearing some dressy black shoes and a sparkly necklace. Her outfit practically screamed Nudge.

"Perfect," I smiled at her and brought out a box of pizza that we had saved for this morning, "Breakfast? Or should I try to cook?"

My last suggestion sent Nudge flying for the pizza box. She obviously didn't want me burning down the house anymore than I did. We ate the remaining slices before heading out of the house and walking to the school, which was only about half a mile away. Jeb wanted us to live close to the school so that if I ever saw an Eraser or Itex worker, I could run home and contact them immediately.

"I hope we don't get hassled by Lissa this year," Nudge sighed as she walked slowly to school. The queen bee was named Lissa, and she hated me because she –like Nudge- believed that Dylan had a crush on me.

I heard footsteps approaching me quickly and I threw my backpack to the cement sidewalk and whirled around to face my pursuer. Amazingly, Nudge did the same thing. She must have been paying attention to my training with Jeb.

To my surprise, Nick Reynalds was trying to catch up with us. Nudge took in his appearance and relaxed, "Is he Mr. Ta-"

I covered her mouth quickly, "Another word, and I kill you."

She got my point and nodded. I released her as Nick drew near, not out of breath at all. He was smiling happily at me.

"Hey Maximum. Who's your friend?" he greeted us and slowed as he got to a few feet from us. Nudge elbowed me as she took him in up close.

"I'm Nudge! I'm Max's best friend! You must be Nick! I have a question. Are you a jock, a popular, a nerd, or an outsider? You look sort of emo, so you must be an outsider, like us! Do you want to eat lunch together?" Nudge asked in a single breath. Nick looked slightly shocked at her outburst, but barley showed it.

I rolled my eyes and apologized for her, "Sorry. She's always like this. You probably didn't realize it, but she just invited you to hang out in our two person group."

Nick nodded easily at once, as if he had understood everything Nudge said, "Yeah. I heard. Nudge, I'm usually an outsider. I'm not emo, but an old friend used to tell me that this look suited me best. And yeah, I'll eat lunch with you guys."

I blinked. He understood Nudge? This must be a sign from whatever made us. He was destined to be our friend. No one but me, not even the teachers or Jeb, understood Nudge the first time.

Suddenly, a very tall guy ran clumsily up to us. He was probably six eight, had strawberry blond hair, and cloudy blue eyes. His hand landed on Nick's.

"You can't just run off! Why did you do that, anyway? You know I'm not used to this area," he grumbled. His gaze never landed on the two girls in front of him. Somehow, I automatically knew that he was blind. It must have been his eyes, his cloudy blue eyes.

Apparently, Nudge didn't come to the same conclusion that I did. She stuck out her hand in front of him, "Hey! I'm Monica, but you can call me Nudge! Are you friends with Nick? You must be since you just called him by his name. Speaking of names, what's yours?"

"Uh…hey Nudge," he said, slightly surprised that there were other people here, "Nick's my brother, so I know him. My name is James."

Wait, another person actually understood Nudge speak? I looked between Nick and James, and then repeated the process. They looked nothing alike. James was like a vanilla ice cream cone and Nick was like a black shadow in a room.

"We're adopted," Nick explained, seeing my confused expression. Huh. I didn't think that I was being that noticeable.

"Wait, how many people are here?" James said in confusion, guessing that Nick wasn't talking to Nudge.

"Can't you tell? I mean, you have eyes, don't you?" Nudge asked him, not comprehending why he didn't know.

"Nudge…" I said softly, but James interrupted me.

"I'm blind," he smiled, as if he was happy that Nudge hadn't guessed it. I could sort of understand that reaction, I guess, "But don't look down on me, okay? In a week, I'll know this place well enough to move around like a normal person."

Nudge's facial expression made me snicker. Her eyebrows went straight up and her mouth opened the slightest bit, "You sure don't act blind! But if you need some help getting around, you shouldn't rely on a kid just as new as yourself! I'll show you around!"  
She just then linked her arm through James' and dragged him away, leaving the rest of us in a daze.

"What…just happened?" Nick asked me and swept his shining, black hair out his eyes that I now noticed weren't a grey, but a comforting onyx.

"Your brother just got kidnapped," I informed him. I think that Nudge just developed a crush, "So…what's your homeroom?"

He shoved his hands into his jean pockets and brought out a piece of wrinkled paper, "Mr. Sendium."

"Really?" I smiled. We had the same homeroom, and I heard that Mr. Sendium was a really cool teacher who did awesome experiments all the time. I led him to our homeroom class on the top floor and we sat down in two seat at the back.

"I was going to introduce you to my brother Ari, but you ran off," I informed him for some reason, "How did you manage to disappear so quickly?"

"I…don't find it that hard to disappear," he looked out the window with a strange grimace, "So…what's your favorite animal?"

I laughed softly and he seemed unsettled by the sound, as if he hasn't heard many people laugh, "Are we just asking each other random questions now? Doesn't that seem a bit…unsystematic?"

He shrugged, "How else will we get to know each other?"

I rolled my eyes at his logic. We were already bantering like old friends, "I don't know. By just _talking_?"

"We are talking," he pointed out snidely, losing his grimace.

I sighed, holding up my hands in defeat, "Fine. My favorite animal is the hawk."

"Really?" he looked vaguely interested, "Mine's a bird too, but mine's a raven."

I was about to ask him a question in return, but a loud, charming voice called out across the classroom, "Max!" My face twisted into a scowl up hearing him. It was Dylan. Joy.

"Who's that?" Nick asked, interested at my sudden change of expression.

"An idiot," I answered coldly, "Just ignore him. Favorite color?"

"Aw, don't be like that," Dylan pouted and sat on my desk, making him impossible to ignore, "You know that I'm the only one who pays attention to you. Why aren't you grateful?"

I was about to give him a snide retort when Nick abruptly stood up, knocking his chair back. He got into Dylan's face, but his face was emotionless.

"I pay attention to her. We are friends now. Go sit down in the opposite side of the room, or I will hurt you," his voice was a blank whisper, though his words were threatening.

"Fine freak," he snorted and sat in the front row, where the teacher will be sure to call on him. He was such a teacher's pet.

"Y-you didn't have to do that," I told him gruffly and stared at my desk, "I can take care of myself."

"I know," he agreed and sat back down, "But…I've never had a friend other than James. I never cared to. I've decided to do something right…and friends take care of friends, don't they?"

I looked at him inquisitively before answering. He had the looks. Any girl would want to get close to him, including me. He had the personality, though I'd barely glimpsed it. Why wouldn't he be close to people?

"Yeah," I nodded reluctantly in answer. I'd do the same for him in a heartbeat. There was something about him…No. I pushed this feeling out of my mind. Like him, I didn't form many relationships either. Nudge was the exception. I would have to leave at a moment's notice and without any goodbyes. Nudge would understand, or even wait for me. I couldn't say the same for anyone else.


	4. Iggy

**Not sure if anyone really likes this story all that much, but I do. And just so you know, I am a Lissa lover. Or at least a liker. Lissa didn't do anything except flirt, which we all do, so why is she getting so much crap about it? I just needed a name and face for the villain, and I thought that you would recognize with hers the most.**

_"No! No! You can't take me!" a raw, afraid voice screamed hoarsely._

_"~~, you can't fight this," some of the words were muffled, deliberately irritating me. I was lucid dreaming, aware that I was asleep. This dream was filled with mist so thick that I couldn't see a thing, but I could hear._

_I heard a struggle. A human grunted as he was slugged in the gut. Snarls. They had brought out the Erasers. A pained cry of the boy first to speak. I ran towards the voices, hoping to help the boy. The voices faded away, but I kept running. I had to help him. It was my job._

_The voices went silent, the mist cleared, and I was all alone in a surgical room. On a table, there was a report of what went on there. My brain processed some words, but others were smeared beyond recognition._

_Name: ~~_

_Age: 6_

_Subject was blinded do to a mistake in the fluid injected into its bloodstream. This was not marked as important, as the subject has become something only for experimental values since Subject 13124 expired._

_Subject 13124, that was me. 13- M, 1-A, 24-X. This happened…because of me? This boy…he must have been in my Flock. This was because of me._

_Beside the report, was a single bloodstained, alabaster feather about half a foot long._

"Max, wake up," Nick's voice whispered in my ears and I let out a small gasp as my head lifted itself off the desk. Our science teacher, Mr. Varner, was glaring at me.

"Ms. Ride, will you be so kind to tell us what the recombinant DNA theory entails, since you were so clearly listening," he sneered at me. Well, he might've gotten me if he picked any subject other than that.

"Recombinant DNA refers to DNA which has been altered by joining genetic material from two different sources," I told him simply and gave him a glare of my own. Science and the topic of DNA does _not_ put me in a good mood, though my grades are usually good in that area.

He looked surprised and looked at me with interest, "Very good, Ms. Ride. Are you interested in becoming a scientist when you grow up?"

"No," I crossed my arms and left it at that. Stupid teacher. He got the point and resumed his lecture.

"How'd you know that?" Nick hissed under his breath, so quiet that even I had a hard time hearing.

"None of your business," I spat at him. Stupid Nick. He shouldn't be prying in things that aren't his business.

"Calm down," he ordered me. I gave him a dirty look before pulling out my sketch book. I wasn't going to forget what I had just remembered. First I put down my experiment number, 13124. Then I started to draw the long, alabaster feather. Bloodspatters. The blurry forms of a boy fighting two Erasers and a whitecoat.

"What…is that?" Nick said in surprise, looking at it. I snapped the book shut as soon as I was done.

"I have a very active imagination," I snapped at him and the bell rang. He shrugged off my bad mood and pulled me to the gym room. He had memorized our schedules and found that we had most of our classes together.

He dragged me to the girl's changing room and shoved me inside. Nudge ran up to me.

"Yay! We're in the same gym class! I wasn't sure if we would be, but we are! I wonder who else is in this class…hey, why are you in a bad mood? Science class?" she guessed, all in one breath. I nodded and got dressed in my gym clothes. They were just a normal pair of black short and a gray tee. When I was done, the brat of the school came up to me.

"Oh look! Maxie-poo and Chatty are in our gym class this year," Lissa said in a false coo, with her red hair pulled back in a ponytail, "We're going to have so much fun trampling you in our dust!"

"Hate to break it to you sweetie," I said in a voice just as sugary sweet as hers, "But Nudge and I are _better_ at gym than you. You'll be in _our_ dust."

"We weren't talking about gym," she whispered in my ear before we walked past her and into the gym, where Nick and James were waiting in a corner.

James heard us and walked over, taking Nudge's shoulder to make sure that he didn't bump into her, "Hey girls, what's up?"

"Eh. Just dealing with some brats," I shrugged angrily and sat down in the spot that I always sat in every year. It was _my_ seat. The gym teachers knew that and to avoid a mess, they just gave it to me right off the bat. It was right near the exit in the corner, so I had to have it. It had an escape route.

"James, if you hear a girl that talks like _this,_" Nudge manipulated her voice so that _this_ sounded like Lissa's nasally tone, "Avoid it at all costs."

"Heh. I'd do that anyway, but thanks Nudge," he elbowed her. Nick sat beside me.

"Why are you in such a bad mood?" he asked me curiously. I stared into his obsidian eyes before abruptly breaking eye contact.

"I hate science," I told him, leaving it at that. He nodded as if he understood.

"Me too," he agreed with me. A million thoughts ran through my head but I settled on that most likely possibility, he was just a normal kid who hated lots of numbers.

Lissa and her group sat at the far end of the gym, near the front. Seeing as they were the last ones to comes in, the gym teachers called the class to order.

"This is our first gym class, so we're spending it outside!" a female teacher blew a whistle, which made me cover my ears. Everyone was sprinting to the exit, which was incidentally where our group was. I pulled up Nick and Nudge did the same for James and we went with the flow. We walked to the track where another teacher was waiting.

"We'll do a mile run, and then free time. Everyone, line up," he commanded. The entire class tried to fit on the starting line, but we ended up just in one big clump with our group in front.

"Want to race?" I grinned competitively. I was going to leave everyone else in the dust, "Nudge and Nick, you guys know how fast I am. You guys up for it?"

"Of course," Nudge snorted, as if it wasn't even a question. She always raced me and I never let her win, ever.

"Sure," Nick shrugged and got ready to run. He leaned over and told James how far he would have to go before each turn, and he nodded as well. The whistle blew and I pushed off the ground and started running as fast as I could. The teachers didn't bother telling me to slow down anymore since they knew I could go as fast as I could and not slow down until I was finished. I left the entire group in the dust, well…not theentire group. Nick was about ten feet behind me, and I slackened my speed so that I could gloat.

"What's up, slow poke?" I asked him cheerfully. I wasn't breathing hard, but neither was he.

"You're fast," he informed me, "But I can go faster than this."

He sped up that he was twenty feet ahead of me and I smirked and easily caught up with him. He didn't have a chance.

"Speed is my element," I laughed freely as I passed him. I didn't give him any more allowances and I sped up until I was almost to the point of where we started. Fifteen feet, ten, five, and then someone tripped me. I went flying through the air, past the finish line, and landed on my back on a patch of grass. I saw Lissa, smirking, from a few feet away.

"Poor, clumsy Max," she sighed. She never did the mile runs because she told the teachers that she had some condition that would prove fatal is she exerted herself. My opinion is that we should make her run the mile, and see if she was lying or not.

I was glaring at her gloating face and was shocked when a bottle of water poured down on her perfectly arranged hair. James was behind her, holding the now empty bottle with an innocent expression.

"What the hell?" she shrieked at him, "Watch where you're going, freak!"  
"Oh, I'm sorry," he said in pitiful voice and a few girls awed at him, "You see, I'm blind. I couldn't see you there."  
It didn't matter that a smile was forming on his face, proving his innocence wrong. It didn't matter that the way he was holding the bottle showed that he did it intentionally. All that mattered was that Lissa just yelled at a clumsy blind person.  
"Lissa's so mean," I heard a group of kids behind me whisper. They were the semi-popular group. They weren't popular, they weren't freaks, but they had a large role in the school's monarchy. Eh. Lissa would be over this in a week, but during that week she wouldn't do anything but play nice.

She stormed off and we all high fived James. He was the only one who could have pulled that off and lived to tell the tale.

"You still won," Nick told me and gave me a high five. I rolled my eyes. And here I thought that you actually had to _walk_ across the finish line.

Nick took my hand and pulled me up, grabbing one of my elbows with his other hand to steady me. I didn't remember to keep myself distanced.

"Do you…want to go somewhere?" he asked me light heartedly before his eyes widened, "I mean..uh…all of us…we should do something…as friends."

"I'd like that," I nodded and smiled.


	5. Siblings

**This update is thanks to adalyn333 on Deviant art! Now the question, what's your favorite stone? Mine has to be either onyx or hematite.**

**Without Further Adieu,**

After school, our group of four gathered in the bottom corner of the courtyard. Well, right now it was our group of three. Nudge was late. She must have gotten lost or maybe she couldn't get her locker combination.

"I'll go find her," I volunteered, but just then Nudge came running out of the big entrance to the school. She looked around quickly before spotting us.

"Hey guys! How late am I? I would think very late since it's been like ten minutes since the last bell rang. Where are we going, anyway?" she panted,. She must have run through all of the halls to get here.

"Where have you been?" James asked, only slightly impatient. His strawberry blond hair was whipping back and forth as he paced. He didn't like to keep still. Nick didn't mind much that we were waiting. Well, if he did, he didn't show it.

"I got lost," she admitted sheepishly. This school did have some twisting hallways, so it was completely plausible that a student would get lost. It's like the school was designed to make you late for class.

"Where are we going?" Nick asked the group, moving his black hair out of his eyes. I had forgotten. Nick and James wouldn't know the area, so they'd rely on us. Nudge shrugged so I guess that it was up to me.

"Why don't we go to the park?" I suggested. The park was fun. Everyone liked the park, "We can drop by my house and get Frisbees or a soccer ball. Does that sound good?"

Then I blushed, "Um…James…"

"I can play," he reassured me, predicting my train of thought, "Just make some noise so I know where everyone is."

James' hearing must be remarkable for him to be able to play with us. He's adapted a lot to his situation. As if he predicted this train of thought as well, he smirked lightly at me.

I hoped that the boy whose blindness was my fault was as well off as James was.

Jeb's minivan rolled over beside us and the window rolled down. Jeb was staring at the group with slightly wide eyes and he cursed softly under his breath before regaining his calm atmosphere, "Max, you made some new friends. Do they need a lift?"

"We were going to drop by our house to get some stuff and then we were going to the park," I told him. He made a gesture for us all to go in. Ari was already in the passenger seat, so we all loaded into the back seats, with Nick and me squished into one seat since there were only three spots and four of us.

"What are your names?" Jeb asked casually.

"I'm James Griffiths," James introduced himself, "You must be Max's dad."

"And you are?" Jeb waved his hand in Nick's direction.

"Nick," he spoke for the first time since school ended. I noticed that we were all trying not to brush against each other. As if we were all wary. I knew that I had a secret –my wings- but what were they hiding? Oh, it must just be because we're practically strangers.

"Max hasn't made a new friend since she met Nudge," Ari shared, much to my chagrin. He was making me sound antisocial. You know what I hated _more_ than hearing Ari talk? Being in a closed car with five others.

We arrived at the house and all jumped out of the car. I was the first one out and might have used my super speed to get out quickly as well.

I unlocked the door with my key and invited my friends in.

"I'll get the stuff out of the garage," Nudge told me and messed with her perfect hair, "You show them around."

I nodded and thanked her for her help. She just smiled and ran to the other side of the house.

"So, this is my house," I said awkwardly and twirled around.

"There are echoes everywhere. Is this a big house?" James asked. I guess the house was big. I had just never noticed it before.

"Yeah," I shrugged, "I guess."

I led them to the kitchen and gave them some snacks, I pointed out the video games in the living room and brought them upstairs. We had three guest rooms, Jeb's room, Ari's room, and my own. I was about to lead them to my room when I stopped cold. My paintings were out in the open. I didn't trust them yet. I couldn't let them see.

"Wait here," I commanded and ran through the door. I locked it quickly. I scanned the room and gathered up most of my paintings in my arms and put them on top of the rack in my closet before slamming the doors shut. The only paintings that remained were of regular birds, most of hawks.

I opened the door casually and invited them in, "Sorry. My room was a little messy."

"Right," Nick said unbelievingly.

"It's not like we'd mind," James shrugged. He bought my lie, "I'm blind and we're both guys. We're slobs."

Nick just walked past me and took in my room. He looked out of place in the open and light space, like a shadow in the sky.

"This room…it's like the sky," he said, almost in wonder. It was as if he never saw a decorated room before. I hung up one picture of a hawk that I was proud of on the wall.

"That's kind of the point," I laughed quietly. The sky was my home just as much as this house was.

"What's it like?" James asked me. He was curious at what made Nick like how he was.

Nick talked in a speech worthy of Nudge, completely different than the character I've been acquainted to, "The windows are open, filling the room with light. The walls are the exact color of a sunny day, like a variation of baby blue. There are cloudlike shapes near the top, outlined by a thin layer of gold. The bed is a light blue as well, though a bit darker than the walls. It reflects Max perfectly."

I was almost speechless. Nick had just talked so much, and the words he uttered were almost poetic, "Someone's chatty."

He just shrugged. It looks like he used up his word quota for the day and was back to silence. Maybe he only spoke a lot when his brother needed to see something.

"Our rooms aren't nearly as decorated. F-Nick's room is black and mine is white," James stuttered over Nick's name for some reason. Nick glared at James, but of course the look was wasted.

Nick brushed his fingers over the picture of a hawk that I'd just hung up, "You did this?"

I nodded and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, "I've been painting since I was little, so I've had a lot of practice."

"It's really good," he praised me, "You like birds?"

Well, it's not like I have a choice to like them or not. We're related, "Yeah. I guess."

He nodded but didn't say anything else. We all just sat down in comfortable silence on the bed until Nudge found us. She had a little bag of Frisbees and balls.

"Let's go!" she said and pulled Iggy up. They ran downstairs and out the door, and Nick and I followed.

"Before you ask, or don't ask in your case, yes. Nudge _is_ always this energetic." I chuckled. Nudge took my hand and started pulling us in the direction of the park that was very close to my home. Nick wasn't going fast enough and was starting to get left behind. I rolled my eyes before taking his hand so we were all connected. Nudge dragged us all to the almost empty park. Two kids with blond hair and blue eyes were sitting on a bench. They oozed boredom.

"Why don't we invite them to play Frisbee with us?" I nudged Nudge. She nodded and I went over to the kids with someone trailing right behind me.

"Hey, do you guys want to play Frisbee with us?" I asked them with a smile on my face. I didn't get the reaction that I was hoping for, or even expecting. The older boy started to run away and pull his sister with him. It was only then that I noticed their tattered and dirty clothes. Were they runaways?

"It's okay. They're not a threat," the six year old girl said while staring at me with an intense gaze. There was sadness and wisdom in her that shouldn't me there. The look was oddly familiar, though. Had I seen her before?

"Are you sure, Angel?" the older brother asked her while giving us a wary look. There were dirt smudges all over his face.

She nodded, "Hello. This is my brother Gazzy. I'm Angel. We would love to play with you guys."

Somehow, I got the distinct impression that the little girl was the one in charge. By the look on Gazzy's face, my guess was correct. Gazzy cracked a smile and we all walked back to the group. It was only then that I realized that Nick had followed us.

"This is Gazzy and this is Angel," I introduced them. A chorus of introductions went out.

"I'm Max."

"Nick."

"Hey! I'm Nudge! You two are so cute!"

"I'm James."

They nodded and smiled at us and I took an orange Frisbee out of the bag. We all spread out and I smirked. I sent it flying to the person farthest away from me, Nudge. It flew three feet above her head, but she jumped high enough to catch it. Then a pattern formed. I would throw it to Nudge or Nick, Nudge would throw it to Angel or Gazzy, Angel would throw it to whoever wasn't expecting it, Gazzy would throw it to me or Nudge, Nick would throw it to James or me, and Iggy would throw it to Nudge or Nick. It was a friendly yet slightly competitive game that lasted until dusk.

"Hey," I said to the runaways. We had plenty guest rooms and I'm sure that Jeb wouldn't mind taking them in for at least a night, "Do you want to-"

They ran away. I could have caught up to them, but surprise held me down until they were out of sight. Nick put a hand on my shoulder.

"There was nothing more that you could do," he told me, "They chose to go."

I sighed. I just loved to have people to take care of, and I seemed to especially love those two.

"Nick," James poked Nick's forehead, "It's time to go back home."

He nodded and said, "See you," before leaving and practically melting into the darkness.

"Bye Max. See you later, Nudge," James waved at us before rejoining Nick and walking away as well.

"I have to go too," Nudge said and ran in the opposite direction.

Soon, I was standing in the middle of the field, alone. I only left when my paranoia kicked in and I felt somebody watching me, though later I deemed that it was nothing.


	6. Confusion

**Wow! Almost forty reviews for five chapters…You really like this story that much?**

**Without Further Adieu,**

The next school day was ordinary until lunch. We were all sitting at the table that Nudge and I had claimed as our own years ago, joking. I happened to look out one of the windows. That little girl –Angel- was staring at our group. When our eyes met, she ran away. She stumbled but caught herself before going out of sight.

"That little girl was staring at us," I whispered, still searching the spot that I had seen her last. It started to rain, further deterring my chances of seeing the girl, if she was even around.

"The runaway?"Nick checked. I nodded and wondered if I'd even seen her.

"Is she still there?" James asked and I again remembered his blindness. He just acted so normally. He never fumbled with anything.

I shook my head, "No. She left."

"Maybe we'll see her later," Nudge shrugged and bit into her sandwich, "Hey! Maybe we cphffum she ff dere af-"

I covered her mouth and sighed, "Nudge, don't talk with your mouth full." Nothing ever stopped her from talking, but I wish that she could just pause for a second while she chewed.

She swallowed, "I _said,_ maybe we could see if they're at the park later!"

"It's raining," Nick pointed out and bit into his apple. He winked at me before continueing, "I men, iff iffs awl wef ouf sid, ten-"

James got the point and bit into his sandwich as well, "Dos shids pwobaly won't be dere."

I groaned and hit the table with my head. They were idiots, but they were my idiots. I bit into my chicken, "Guies, dis id weally tupid. Yure weally tupid."

Nick swallowed and gave me a half smile, "Max, you're okay."

I rolled my eyes. Okay? That was the best he could do? "I wish I could say the same for you."

"Burn!" James crowed and held up his hand for a high five. I hit it and noticed a girl with long black hair and doe-like chocolate brown eyes walk towards the door timidly. I hadn't seen her before, so I'd guess that she was new. Someone tripped her and she fell, her face smashing into her school lunch.

I stood up abruptly and slammed my tray down. The kids who had started laughing at the girl silenced immediately. I marched over to the girl and bent down to her height.

"Are you okay?" I asked quietly and she nodded. Her eyes flickered to the super boy of the school, Omega Johansen. I grabbed her mild and looked at the girl, "Can I borrow this for a second?"

She nodded and I opened the white milk and held it over Omega's head, "Oops." I poured the whole thing over his head, "So sorry. It was an accident."

I helped the girl up and led her to the bathroom. While passing our table, Nudge stood up and came with us. She stopped at her locker, but I continued with the girl to the bathroom.

"What's your name?" I asked her as I wet some paper towels and handed them to the girl.

"Ella," she answered immediately, "And thanks. For what you did back there, I mean."

"No problem," I waved her off, "I'm Max, by the way."

Nudge came into the room with a white shirt that looked like it would fit Ella. Nudge blocked the door while Ella changed. In five minutes total, she was clean and pretty.

"You lost your lunch, so I'll share mine with you today," I told Ella. She looked at me in surprise, like she didn't expect my kindness to extend any further.

"You don't have to do that," she said quickly. Nudge looked like she was holding in giggles, but the dam broke.

Nudge laughed out loud at her comment, "Ha! It's no use, Ella! Once Max says something, she's like a pit bull, thinking pit bull thoughts. She _does not let go_ of an idea. It's kind of annoying sometimes. And she likes to be Super Max! Once, she took care of this squirrel!"

"You take care of animals?" Ella's eyes sparked with interest at Nudge's statement. Thank you Nudge!

"Sometimes," I nodded and sent Nudge a thankful glance, "My house is surrounded by the forest at the edge of town, so we get a lot of furry visitors. Why don't we talk at the table?"

She smiled and nodded, "Yeah. Let's."

We walked out of the bathroom and went back to our table, where we saw Lissa talking angrily to Nick and James.

She glared at me and flipped her vibrant red hair over her shoulder, "What is it with you people and _spilling drinks on people_?"

"Name one person that wants you here, Lissa. If you can do that, you can stay. If you can't, get your ass out of my sight," I sighed and sat down, seating Ella beside me. Lissa made a frustrated noise before stomping back to the popular table.

"From what I heard, you were super awesome Max! What happened to the girl you helped?" James asked excitedly. Ella looked confused and I explained.

"He's blind. And James, Ella's right here," I introduced everyone and we all started talking. Ella kept sneaking peeks at James and blushing every so often. Nudge caught on to this and grew sullen. That wasn't good. What made matters worse was that James seemed to be favoring Ella right now.

"I have to go clean out my locker," Nudge sulked before walking away. Nick and James looked confused at her sudden change of attitude, and Ella looked guilty.

"I'm so sorry," Ella said and walked away also.

"What's with her?" James asked, clueless. I sighed in frustration. Boys were so stupid.

"Jealousy, James," I said vaguely before leaving them as well. The mood was ruined, and I honestly didn't want to hang out with anyone anymore. Not right now, at least. I stepped outside into the rain and my eyes wandered to the trees again and I caught a glimpse of a dirty yet still golden lock of hair before Angel ran away again.


	7. Angel

**Traitorous and this story have exactly the same number of reviews:)**

**Without Further Adieu,**

Sometimes, good endings start with bad beginnings. I was walking home from school by myself and I was passing the park when I noticed that I had a tail. I caught blond hair, but I wasn't sure which sibling it was.

"Hey!" I waved in the runaway's direction and the little girl, Angel, scampered up to meet me. Her face looked freshly washed and she looked a bit more lively.

"Thanks for playing with me the other day," she smiled at the ground, "It meant a lot, Max."

"I can tell," I chuckled quietly. I dug into my backpack and brought out a Pinky bouncy ball. I tossed it to her and she tossed it back. She wanted to play catch. I nodded and put my backpack down. I bounced it back to her and she caught it at its highest point in the bounce. We played with it for about a half an hour, just having fun, before we sat down against a tree. I gave her half a sandwich.

"Why were you watching us today?" I asked her suddenly. It's been bothering me, but in a good way.

She shrugged and sighed, "I don't know. There's nothing else to do while Gazzy's out getting food and stuff. I usually help, but…"

"But what?" I asked her. I was worried about her because she erupted in a bout of coughs shortly after her statement.

She rolled up her jean leg, "Just a scratch."

There was a nasty gash on the side of her leg, oozing puss. The area around it was a bright red. It had a really bad infection.  
"Oh my god," I covered my mouth as I threatened to throw up, "I need to take you to a hospital! Don't worry, I'll cover it."

"No!" she said in fear. Angel jumped up and ran away. Once she disappeared around a corner, I felt someone watching me again. This time, I paid attention to my survival instincts and I went straight home.


	8. Dylan

**So...yeah. I have my phone, and I'll try to update whenever I can.**

**Without Further Adieu,**

When I arrived the next day at school, I walked straight to where our group was already forming. Ella and Nudge were waiting, looking away from each other awkwardly.

I sighed. Nudge was my best friend and obviously had dibs on Iggy, but Ella hadn't been with us long enough to know that. She's probably horribly confused as to why Nudge is taking a dislike to her. I'll talk to both of them separately later.

"Hey Max," Ella greeted me happily, shaking her long black hair out from under her eyes. Nudge mumbled something and greeted me as well.

"Hey guys," I greeted them generically.

"Nick's sneaking up on you," Nudge informed me blankly. I spun around, coming face to face with Nick. His black hair was looking especially soft and ruffled and his obsidian eyes were twinkling, he looked with me after I just went for a fly. My face was only about three inches away from his surprised and happy face. We both froze for a moment, surprised at the proximity.

"I saw Angel yesterday," I squeaked awkwardly and took a step back. He looked amused at me and smirked.

That broke Nudge out of her funk. Her mocha eyes lit up, "Was she spying on you again?"

"Who's Angel?" Ella asked at the same time, ruffling Nudge's feathers, so to speak. Ha, bird humor.

"Angel is a little runaway that's taken an interest in our group," I explained an was about to continue when Iggy walked up, munching on an apple.

He'd obviously picked up on the conversation. He swallowed his bite of apple before commenting, "It's really just that she's taken an interest in you, Max."

"Hi, Iggy!" Ella and Nudge greeted him enthusiastically. Then they both gave each other sideways glances. Maybe Ella had caught on.

A round of greetings went out before I continued again, "So, after school yesterday I was walking home and I saw her. We played with that pink rubber ball that I always keep in my backpack."

"Something's bothering you," Nudge noticed. She was always the first one to pick up on my negative moods, though Nick was challenging that statement with every word he spoke.

"Is it Angel?" Nick guessed. As usual, his guess hit truth. Was I that predictable?

I nodded and closed my eyes. I pictured Angel's mottled leg, the puss encompassing her wound, and then her words 'just a scratch'. What all had she been through so that she passed that wound off as nothing? "I can't talk about it right now."

"We'll talk later," Nudge said, a strange phrase for her to say. The bell rang and we all went to our respective classes.

Dylan was sitting on my desk when Nick and I entered our homeroom. He had lost his cocky face and now looked...sorry?

Nick didn't waste any thought on him, "What do you want?" I was wondering the very same thing.

Dylan avoided eye contact as he spoke, "I wanted to apologize for Omega and Lissa. They're...stupid most of the time. And I was wondering...could I hang out with you guys today?"

I blinked in surprise. That threw me. Rich Jerk never did was I expected, "Why?"

"Why?" Dylan repeated me in surprise, as if he didn't think that his request would be pondered, "I don't know. I need a break from the Populars and you guys seem...interesting. And nice."

"I can understand wanting to get away from Lissa," I confessed without thinking. Nick looked at me in disbelief and Dylan looked hopeful. I couldn't help that my face softened at his puppy dog face.

I rolled my eyed and tried to appease them both, "It's not up to me to make our group accept you. You'll have to win us over. It won't be an easy feat since you're a jerk and all." I had to add that last part, to make both Nick and me feel better. Dylan was a jerk, and we'd both enjoy seeing him get bashed.

"So why give me the chance?" Dylan's pretty boy face scrunched up in confusion. Maybe he knew already and didn't want to admit it, or maybe he was clueless.

"It'll be interesting," I smirked and waited for lunch to come.

"Why'd you do that?" Nick hissed in my ear after class, when no one would hear.

"Curiosity killed the cat," I smiled and shifted the weight of my books.

"You're waiting to see him crash and burn?" Nick asked, though he already knew the answer.

"But satisfaction brought it back," I finished.

Classes passed in a blur and finally it was lunch time. Nick and I hurried to get our lunches, but we were still the last of our regular group to get there.

"Why are you smiling?" Nudge asked in confusion, looking slightly suspicious.

"Nick is smiling?" James raised his eyebrows, "The world must be ending or something."

"I'm sure that it's not that bad," Ella reasoned. James looked unconvinced.

"Max has a devious side," Nick took a bite out of his cheeseburger.

"Or...not," Ella tipped her head to the side, "What do you think, Nudge?"

"I think..." Nudge paused, "I think that Dylan is heading straight towards us. Max?"

"Ella, Nudge, scoot over so that he has a place to sit," I instructed and took a bit out of my apple. I watched Dylan like a cat watches a mouse. He awkwardly placed his tray on our table and sat down.

"Say hi to Dylan, everyone," I said, toying with him. Everyone greeted him politely. He returned the greetings politely, until he reached Ella. Things seemed to slow down.

Ella had already lost interest. She was staring down into her plate of salad and picking at a cherry tomato with her fork. Her black hair was sweeping the table as she played with her food. Dylan stopped talking as soon as he really saw her. He swept his eyes up and down over her and swallowed.

"Hi, I'm Dylan," he breathed, "Who...are you?"

"I thought you would know," Ella said bitterly, a completely different person, "Since your group enjoys tripping me so much."

"You're..." his face filled with understanding, "Oh. Ella..."

"Don't talk to me," she brushed him off and started to talk to James, who had been silently listening to the conversation, much like the rest of us.

Nudge and I looked at each other briefly before nodding. We just had to set those two up.


	9. Promises

**Skatzaa, your review gave me an idea on how to link my ideas to where this story should go to where we are now.**

**Writers block…I OVERCAME IT! YES!**

**Without Further Adieu,**

Before school the next day, I felt someone watching me and I smiled slightly as I thought about who it must have been: Angel. She had kept the bouncy ball from yesterday, and I was glad. Maybe she'd come back to play again, and I could fix up her leg.

I was still remembering how joyful she looked while she was playing ball when a heavy hand clamped down on my shoulder. Hm, I had predicted that he'd try to retaliate for what I did to him yesterday at lunch.

"Hey Omega," I strained my neck as I turned around and I saw his chestnut hair was shining, "Hey, I heard that milk is really good for your hair, so did it do its magic?"

"Shut up," he growled and spun me around. Now, see if he was my boyfriend or even some normal boy and I was some normal girl I would've thought that he would kiss me. Boy surprises girl from behind. Girl says something not at all snarky. Boy spins girl around. They kiss. See? But no. We were dealing with an angry Omega and an annoying Max.

"Pull a stunt like that again, Ride, and it'll be the end of you," he spat at me, but then just stalked away. That was slightly disappointing. I was hoping for some fighting, or at least a verbal face off.

I felt someone breathe on my cheek, so of course I spun back around and slapped the creep. I never paused to think that maybe it was someone I know, or more specifically, Nick.

"What was that for?" he snapped as I jerked my hand back in surprise, but it was too late. He had an angry pink mark on his face.

I shrugged, "Sorry. I didn't know it was you. I'm just a little pumped. I met with Angel yesterday."

"And how does that lead to me getting slapped?" he countered immaturely. I could see that he wasn't really hurt, but just bent on annoying me like always. When he talked, I could see that he had larger incisors than most people I knew, like a vampire. That could lead to some interesting nicknames.

"I told you, it was an accident," I said and looked towards the trees where Angel always hid. I didn't see anyone, "Strange. She's not there anymore."

"Is she normally?" Nick asked me curiously. I nodded. She always hid right behind the big maple tree that was as wide as Nick, Nudge, and I standing side by side. I would think that she intentionally lets me see the flash of her hair so that I know that she's there.

I looked down as I again remembered her infected leg. She would need to get some treatment right away. I bet Jeb could do everything just as well as a hospital could.

"She's…hurt. Badly," I whispered. It was already like Angel was my little girl (for some strange reason, I heard a giggle as I thought that. It must have been my imagination) and I was terribly worried for her.

"What do you mean?" Nick asked me and put his hand on my arm. I shook my head.

"Her leg…it's terrible. She's _needs_ medical attention," I kept staring at her place in the trees.

"Then we'll find her," Nick smiled at me, his obsidian eyes looking like the overcast sky, "Though I don't think we should tell anyone else. Nudge'll want to tell the authorities and James'll tell Nudge. Ella doesn't know them, so she's not really involved."

"We need to find her," I told him determinedly, "Soon. I don't care where we have to go to find her."

_And maybe I'll have help_, I thought hopefully, still staring at Nick's eyes. We had never really worked together, but I knew that we'd make a great team. He knew what I would do and I knew what he would do. We matched each other perfectly. I gave out too much, Fang never gave out anything at all. I was stubborn, he was determined. I was a bird kid, he was human.

"We have to get to class," I reminded him and I saw James, Ella, and Nudge hanging out at one side of the courtyard, "I wonder why they didn't come to talk to us."

Nick gave me a disbelieving stare, "You and I _both_ know why they didn't come over here."

My cheeks reddened slightly. Yeah, I knew. They were giving us 'a little privacy' because 'we would make a great couple'. Maybe they were right, maybe not. Time would tell.

No, it wouldn't. I could see the outcomes of this…attraction between him and I. One, he was an Itex agent or close to one and I'd be taken back to the school. Two, he wasn't an Itex agent but I get taken back to the school, as does he. Three, he wasn't an Itex agent, but he freaks out when he sees my wings and tells everybody, revealing that I'm alive. That was no better than option one. I didn't dare think of an option four.

"Yeah right," I rolled my eyes and snorted. It was never going to happen, "As if I'd date a guy like you."

A guy like you, meaning human. Maybe I'd find some nice bird guy to settle down with, though the chance of that was slim. Or, maybe I'd kill myself trying to get 'The Flock' out of the School, because my hopes of them actually being here had committed suicide. That was so stupid of me, to think that they're here because I saw a single raven feather.

"A guy like me?" Nick asked, his disbelief melting into irritation and…disappointment. Had I accidently gotten too close to him? "What do you mean?"

I couldn't let this go on any further. I had to break up before we were even together, "Nick…I'd like to be with you. But I can't. I can't go back to-"

I clamped my mouth shut. What was wrong with me? I tell him that so I don't go back to the school, and then I almost tell him anyway? My mouth's like a steel bear trap, isn't it?

"Forget it," I shook my head and hurried to where the rest of our group was waiting. I passed them without a word, gripping Nudge's shirt sleeve as I passed. I had to show her. If I didn't tell her, I'd tell Nick, and that was _not_ a possibility. Nudge I trusted.

"Where are we going?" Nudge asked curiously as I marched her out into the woods. I le go of her shirt sleeve and she followed me, taking two steps for everyone one of my strides.

"I've been keeping secrets, Nudge," I whispered audibly, loud enough for her to hear.


	10. Hope

**A:) Hola. Como Esta?**

**B:) Bien. Y tu?**

**A:) Bien. Gracias.**

**SPANISH CLASS IS FUN!**

* * *

"I've been keeping secrets, Nudge," I said again. Desperation was bubbling up inside of me. I couldn't keep living a complete lie. It was fine last year, because it was only Nudge. It was only one person that didn't know my biggest secret, only one person that I wanted to tell. Now, there were three; James, Nick, and Nudge. There was too much, it was like a dam breaking inside of me.

"I know everything about you, Max," Nudge told me softly and put out her mocha hand to touch my shoulder. I flinched and backed up.

"No, you don't," I whispered hoarsely, "But…do you…do you want to?"

Nudge came up with her own little guess, entirely plausible in the current situation but still wrong, "Are you on drugs?"

I shook my head furiously and started to strip off my jacket, "Nudge, if I tell you, you can't tell anyone, _anyone_. I'll be taken away, _and I will never come back."_

Nudge was done with the guessing games. She was my best friend, and she could tell when I was being serious. She nodded, "Tell me. I won't tell a soul."

I nodded and shut my eyes tightly. I couldn't watch her while I showed her, "Best friends forever?"

"Forever," she promised me and I knew that I had no choice. There was no going back by now. I had jumped off a cliff, and it was time to pull out my wings before I went splat.

I slowly lifted my peregrine hawk wings and I heard her gasp sharply. Her backpack dropped to the ground and I heard her jacket unzip.

I opened my eyes to see her shocked and hopeful expression, "You're one, too? That's awesome! I didn't think that you were, since you had a family and always functioned so normally. ZOMG! I can't believe it! We should totally go flying together sometime! I haven't seen another mutant since I escaped."

I blinked. What? From her rushed words, I think that I had heard that…she already knew about mutants. How come she wasn't bombarding me with questions? Any normal human would have to ask if I could really fly.

Then I knew. Adolescent wings protruded out of Nudge's wings. They looked like sparrow wings, I thought in a daze. She looked at me bashfully under her eyelashes, "Sorry for not exactly telling you."

"No, no it's alright," I told her, feeling light headed. After all this worry, she was like me. She was a mutant. This wasn't going to end badly, "It's my fault. Really."

"Max, are you alright?" Nudge asked and came closer. I swayed on my feet and gripped a tree branch to steady myself.

I nodded profusely, "I'm fine. My brain just feels like it's going to-"

I inhaled sharply as I lost consciousness and fell heavily on the forest floor. The autumn leaves cushioned my fall, and I thought no more.

_"I can't leave them," I begged Jeb quietly as he carried me through the halls. It was Christmas and all the scientists had gone home for the day. He had placed a dead clone of me inside my cage. He was going to take me away from here, but I didn't want to go. Not without them. Not without my Flock. Ari shot me a sympathetic glance –he was holding Jeb's hand, the one that wasn't carrying me- but he didn't say anything. I glared at him, the first time I'd ever used my death glare. He was a coward. Jeb would listen to him._

_"I'm getting you out of here," Jeb said and slipped something inside my mouth that made me fall asleep. I hated being drugged. I hated it. I hated being powerless._

I immediately came to and gasped. As my head shot up, it connected with Nudge's in a painful head butt. I cursed and nudge straightened up. She had been bent over me, probably shaking me in hopes of me waking up.

Why had I had that flashback? It was entirely new. I only ever remembered waking up after the 'rescue'. Why had I had it now? I almost _never_ had flashbacks when I wasn't already asleep. It must have been the shock of-

I blinked. Nudge had wings. My subconscious must have been mulling it over because I could cope with that fact now.

"There's a whole other side to you," I said, almost in sadness. I thought that I knew everything about her. That, apparently, was the wrong assumption to make.

"I don't know you as well anymore," she sighed and leaned back. She looked like she was on the verge of fully giving up.

"My favorite ice cream flavor is still triple chocolate," I joked lightly. It worked. Nudge's eyes lit up and she giggled. I noticed that both our wings were tucked in. We must have pulled them in while I was passed out.

"If only you had changed your favorite to chocolate mint," she sighed, though couldn't keep the smile off her face, "Then we could just share a tub of it instead of getting two."

"As if," I snorted out a laugh, "You love having the entire tub of ice cream."

I was glad that we had returned to a normal topic, because at that moment Nick appeared before us. He pushed back a bough of a pine tree as he got closer.

"I didn't figure that you two were skippers," he told us flippantly. He didn't really seem to care, though when he looked at me, there was hurt in his eyes. I looked up and saw that the sun was already more than halfway across the sky. It was maybe three o'clock. School was over.

"Where's James?" I asked suddenly. As excited as I was that Nudge was a mutant like me, Angel was hurt. That was me, pit bull Max. I hang onto something, no matter what life throws at me.

"With Ella," Nick told us, guessing my train of thought. That had an immediate effect on Nudge.

"Well, uh, I need to go now. See ya!" Nudge waved at us and ran off in the direction of the school parking lot.

"I forgot to mention that Dylan was there, too, and Ella was paying more attention to him than James." Nick muttered and looked at me out of the corner of his eye, "Are you ready to find the little runaway, Max?"

And that was Nick, never showing his actual feelings, "Nick-"

"Don't," he looked away, "From what you told me earlier, you're scared something will happen if you say that you like me, which you do. I can tell. Just, sort it out. I can wait."

"It's never going to be 'sorted out' Nick. That's the problem," I told him. I wouldn't reveal my big secret. I had hope in my friends now, thanks to Nudge. I didn't think that they were mutants because that would be _too_ big of a coincidence, but I hoped that maybe they'd accept me, "I'm not going to tell you, so you're going to have to find out on your own."

"Maybe," he shrugged, though there was a new confidence in the tilt of his head, "Let's go find Angel."

"Let's," I laughed softly and we walked through the forest, bumping into each other as friends 6hat like each other do, desperate to touch one another, but neither one of them admitting it.


	11. Breaking Fax

**Woah, I thought I posted this a week ago. I got depressed because I was like, aw...no one likes my stories anymore.**

**Without Further Adieu,**

**FANGPOV**

We searched for her until it got dark, even after it began to pour. I ran a hand through my sopping wet black hair as Max ran into the newest playground in town.

"Angel!" she called, cupping her hands around her cute mouth. Max was hiding something., but she was obviously too scared to say it to me. Whatever it was, I wouldn't hold it against her. I mean, her secret couldn't be bigger than mine. What could be so great of a secret to make even the great Maximum Ride cower? Was she…? No. No. I refused to believe that. Max is too strong to have been…raped. It's more likely that she killed somebody. That I could deal with.

"She's not here," Max muttered. I barely heard her through the rain, but her whisper did reach my ears, "Nick, you didn't see her. She's…hurt."

"We'll find her," I promised her, and I was surprised to see that she took comfort in my words. Since when did she care what I thought?

"Let's look in town," she suggested and I, of course, agreed. We trudged through the pouring rain and one of us had the idea that she'd be in a toy store. Kids loved toy stores, right? I wouldn't know, since I hadn't had the most normal of childhoods. It was when we first came to the mall doors that it happened.

We heard a small gasp, and both of our heads turned in the direction of the sound. A twelve year old boy with spiky blond hair stood there, staring at us. I wouldn't have recognized him, but his eyes made him familiar, his baby blue eyes. He was the little girl's sister…Jazzy?

"Gazzy!" Max inhaled sharply and staggered towards him. I groaned as I realized that was indeed his name. God, I'm such an idiot.

"What do you want?" he asked unsteadily, stepping away. Gazzy seemed…unnecessarily nervous. Strange.

"We want to help you," Max tried to comfort him, but it had the opposite effect. He tensed up and looked at us with fear in his adolescent eyes.

"No. You never help. You're Gen 97's, aren't you?" he whispered. Gen 97's? Was he on crack or something? That sounded like something in a video game. He didn't wait for an answer, and instead sprinted off through the streets. We, of course, ran after him. We chased him through narrow, gray alleys with water still dripping from the rooftops, and through expanses of soggy mud, through a small playground, and through the town square.

He slid down the railing and ran around a corner, disappearing from sight. Max had pulled ahead from me by about three feet when –on the second step of the stairs- she screamed. She pitched forwards and grabbed her head before suddenly losing consciousness.

There was only one thought in my head at that instant, only one word. No. I threw myself forwards and practiced a move I'd learned with Iggy, having to do it so many times when he'd lose in an Arial fight. In midair, I spun myself so that I was facing the sky, then I wrapped my arms around Max's limp form tightly. She whimpered in my arms.

"Oof," I grunted as we hit the ground. I carefully checked myself, no broken bones though there were a lot of scratches, and then checked Max. She was completely unharmed. Just as I thought she'd be. I cautiously picked her up.

What was wrong with her? Did she have a seizure? Oh god, she could be having a seizure. What should I do? Call 911? They'd want to check me out too since I took the fall, and then they'd see my wings.

Anne. I could take her to my foster mom. I stood up and started running. Each step hurt like hell, but Max could…I don't even know. I didn't care. I ran faster through the streets before I reached a small development, where Anne owned a house. I burst into our white two floor home and heard Iggy and Anne eating. Anne angrily pushed her chair back and came out to meet me.

"Fang! You were supposed to be home by- oh my gosh, is that a girl?" Anne gasped as she saw max's inert body in my arms. Hearing those words, Iggy came out into the foyer as well.

"Is that…Max's breathing I hear?" Iggy cocked his head questioningly, "Dude, what did you _do_ to her?"

"I think she had a seizure," I panted to Anne. She was a doctor. She could take care of it, "What should we do?"

"Lay her on the couch," Anne sighed and gestured to our living room, "That's really all we can do for her."

I nodded and went to lay Max on the couch in a rush. We were both still dripping wet, so I put a dry quilt around her and brushed her tangled hair out of her face. What had happened? Did she have epilepsy?

Who would know? The answer immediately came to mind. Nudge. Best friends know everything about each other, right? I dialed her number. It ringed two times before Nudge picked up.

"Hey Nick! You haven't used my number _at all_. I mean, this is like the first time! It's really late at night. What's up?" she greeted me quickly.

I spoke just as quickly into the phone, a feat never before accomplished, "Is this Max's secret? Does she have epilepsy? Why would she hide it from us? It's jut a medical condition that would have been _very_ handy to know."

"That's not her secret," Nudge giggled, "And she doesn't have epilepsy, silly. Wait…ZOMG! Did she faint again?"

I nodded, then realized that she wouldn't' be able to see that, "Yeah. Wait, did she faint earlier?"

"Yup. Right before you came. You should call her Dad. His number is 333-333-3333. Got that?"

"Yeah. Bye Nudge."

"Bye Nicholas!"

"It's Nick."

"I know."

With that, I disconnected the line and called Max's dad, "Hello? Is this Max's father?"

"Yes, this is Jeb speaking."

"Max…uh…she fainted while we were walking today."

"Who…who is this?" his voice was strangely tense. The sound of pots and pans banging disapeared.

"Nick." Hadn't we met the other day? it was brief, but we had met when he'd driven us to their house.

"Tell me, Nick…did anything happen today? Did she…tell you anything?"

"She didn't tell me anything, regrettably," I confessed to him, "Why?"

"Good," he said to himself, "No one knows."

"Nudge knows," I offered, "She seemed happy about it."

What _did_ Nudge know? Did...oh god. There was only one thing that got girls so happy. Did...did Max have a boyfriend? She probably did. How could someone as beautiful and kind as Max _not_ have a boyfriend? How could I be so _stupid_? No wonder she had turned me down!

"Nudge? That explains it. Okay Nick, I'll be there to pick up Max in a minute. Where do you live?"

"The development right beside the mall." I could hear my dissapointment in my tone, though I was sure that Max's dad couldn't hear it through the phone.

"Okay. I'll be right there, Nick."

It seems like Max's secret was just getting bigger and bigger. I wish that I hadn't already guessed the answer, since I was sure that I was right.


	12. Awake

**DUN DUN DUUUUNNNNN! Jeb is going to see Anne…What the JeFackson will happen?**

**Without Further Adieu,**

Three short knocks interrupted my troubled thoughts. I looked at the clock. Max's dad had gotten here in three minutes. That was…weird. His house was on the other side of town.

I opened the door to see him. I was tall, maybe six feet, but her dad towered over me. He smiled at me, though his grin reminded me of a shark, smirking at its prey. I stared him down. Fang F'nicking Walker wasn't a dolphin, or whatever sharks ate.

"Hello, Mr. Batchelder," I greeted him politely. This man seemed familiar somehow, as if I'd seen him many times before. As if…the fog that often blocked my memories loosened. His face peered at me behind the bars of my cage in Itex. His cold, malicious face.

Maybe I was the dolphin.

"Hello, Fang. Or should I say Nicholas? I get so confused," he asked me lightly. I stepped to the side stiffly, letting him enter my home. I liked the daughter of…of…Jeb? Jebidiah. Jebidiah Batchelder.

"Iggy," Jeb called and my blind best friend's head popped around the corner. Iggy's eyes seemed to travel to me before looking around blindly.

"J-Jeb?" Iggy sounded scared. He brought out a steak knife from behind his back and pointed it at where Jeb stood. He was brave, braver than me.

"Hello Iggy. I'd like to tell you two boys something," Jeb tipped his head to the side amiably, "Stay away from my daughter. If either of you do anything more than pick up a pencil for her when she drops it, I will bring down _all_ of Itex on _both_ of you. Are we clear?"

"No," the sound burst through my lips before I could stop it, something that's never happened before. I was Fang. I didn't talk, yet here I was, defying the person I feared the most, "No. I will be near Max, and I _will_ be her friend. I don't care about your threats. I don't care that I'll go back to the School."

Jeb's light blue eyes pierced me and I had to fight to keep myself from flinching, "You didn't think about the consequences."

"I didn't have to," I stared at him. I feared this man, who had tortured me for so long. What's funny is that I had a mega crush on his daughter. What's funnier is how I could remember everything about him right now, as if something that had been holding those memories had unlocked their grip. My eyes widened at him. Was he a mutant? Did he have mind powers?

He pursed his lips, "Fine then. Max enjoys spending time with you two. I'm giving you both one chance. Do the slightest thing to her, and you die."

"Understood," I nodded. Iggy sent a disbelieving look in my direction.

Jeb passed Iggy and pushed the knife out of his way, "Put the knife down, son."

Iggy and I listened as Jeb saw Anne.

Anne gasped. She murmured, "Mr. Batchelder, why are you here?"

"Same as you," he said good naturedly, "I'm protecting my kids."

"How…how is Ari?" she asked softly. Was Anne seriously making small talk with this man?

"He is fine. Maybe he should come over sometime. Ari always did love you," Jeb said and looked around, "Where is Max? Did you sell her off to Itex yet?"

Did Jeb just make a joke? Maybe…maybe he wouldn't send us off to the School just yet.

"Not quite," Anne laughed, "She's in the living room, asleep."

They started to talk about escaping the school (Anne had given us a poison to make us look dead) and where they'd lived during the past years. Sensing a long, adult conversation, I went to check on Max. Her light brown and blond hair cradled her face. All of a sudden, Max's eyes widened and she started hyperventilating. I immediately rushed to her side and knelt beside her.

Max's dark chocolate eyes met mine, "Nick? Where am I? This place doesn't look familiar. Are we…Are we…"

She trailed off and I wondered what she was going to say. I couldn't think of anything a human would say that would explain why she was so panicked.

"You're in my house. We were following Gazzy and you fainted," I explained. I'm sure I could've found a shorter way to say it, but those chocolate brown eyes just lowered my censor. With her, I actually…spoke in full sentences. She was starting to affect life even when she wasn't in it. Anne and Iggy would comment on my speeches at times, not knowing the reason.

"Oh," she bit her lip, which looked utterly adorable. God, when other girl's did that, I just thought it looked stupid. Why would they intentionally look nervous? With Max, it was cute. It was great to see that there was another side to the always confident Max.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" I blurted out. Prolonged contact with her eyes made me do crazy things. I looked away as a blush filled my cheeks.

To my surprise, Max laughed, "No, Nick. I don't have a boyfriend, and I don't plan to."

_No, Nick._ I loved the way she said my name, even if it wasn't the name I preferred. Fang. I wanted her to say that name. I wanted her to call me by my true name. The one I'd had for as long as I could remember.

"Oh," I shoved my hands into my pockets, "Hey, are you hungry?"

_I don't have a boyfriend._ That phrase made me…happy. She didn't have a boyfriend.

"Not really," she stood up from the couch, "So, James is here?"

_And I don't plan to._ What girl didn't want a boyfriend? Every girl I have ever known (except those that didn't have a preference for guys) has wanted a boyfriend.

"He's here. I think he's washing dishes," I said, feeling a twinge of guilt because that was my job, "Max…"

"What?" she asked as she looked around the room, memorizing the room for escape routes. Jeb has taught her well. I wonder if she knows about her Dad's job.

"Stop calling me Nick," I stood closer to her and whispered tenderly, "Call me…call me Fang."

"Fang?" Max tipped her head to the side in confusion. She didn't make fun of the name or laugh.

"Yeah," I ducked my head, "But…just when we're alone."

"People laugh at strange names," Max mumbled and looked down at the floor, "Okay, _Fang_."

"Thank you," I burrowed my head in her hair, a tender gesture. Giving her my real name…it was like she was getting to know the real name. She wasn't getting close to Nicholas Walker. She was getting close to me, Fang.

"Max," Jeb called as he walked through the hall. I quickly separated from Max before he saw me, "It's time for us to go."

"Tell Iggy I said hi," Max smiled before stepping away, "Fang."


	13. Chapter 13

"_I don't want to," I sobbed hysterically. I was in a white room, like those of the school. This was different, though. There weren't whitecoats in the background, taking notes on those expensive clipboards they owned. Now, there was only Jeb with a laptop in front of him and Ari, sitting in the back of the room while playing on a Gameboy._

"_This is for your own good," Jeb told me, once again. I didn't care! I wanted to remember them! There were wires hooked up to my head and I struggled against them, though the restraints on my hands and legs made sure that I couldn't do anything. I hated being powerless. _

_Jeb had explained everything to me. He was taking away all of my memories. To make me happier, he had said. To remove my paranoia, he had said. To prevent me from doing anything stupid, he had said. He promised me that I would never remember them. That nothing would be left. I would hate him forever, I knew. They were my responsibility. More than that, they were my family. I didn't want to abandon them. Forgetting them would mean leaving them. Permanently._

_The process started and I screamed in resistance. I could feel everything slipping away._

_First, it was the new baby. She was so angelic, a face as sweet as candy but eyes that contained much more knowledge than I wanted for her. There was possibility that she was a mind reader, but nothing was proven. I'd left naming the baby up to her brother, the Gasman. I savored her image for three precious seconds before I didn't miss her at all._

_Then, it was the Gasman. His image stayed with me. Caught in a rare laugh, his baby blue eyes were alive and mischievous, his cheeks ruddy, and his hair clean and spiky. His image slowly faded and when it was gone, I wondered what I had been thinking about a second before. _

_Iggy's face filled my memory. His strawberry blond hair hung over his light blue eyes. He was always so joyous, though I'd heard rumors that a horrible test would be performed on his eyes. That couldn't happen. It wouldn't be fair, not if I wasn't by his side to help him through-_

_What was I panicking about, again? I couldn't quite remember. It wasn't even a 'it's on the tip of my tongue' moment. I had completely forgotten._

_Nudge, my little girl, was smiling in my mind. Jeb had sneaked us a cheeseburger. I'd taken a tiny taste of the sauce before giving it all to Nudge. 'I love you so much, Max!' she had said for a week. That was great enough, but she'd been so full of life for a long time. It was as if the reminder that all life wasn't like this was enough to give her motivation._

_Darkness. I felt…lost. Where was I? _

_I saw Fang's face, and I suddenly knew that I was home. Fang always made me feel safe. He held me after particularly hard tests, he told me jokes when I was down, and he was always so protective. He was my best friend, my brother, and…something more. I didn't know what, but I'd find out. _

"_That's…strange," Jeb murmured, his voice breaking through my thinking, "It won't erase."_

_I panicked. Jeb was trying to make me forget. What had me made me forget already? No matter what, I couldn't let myself forget Fang. He was my life. Without him, I had no life. I was seven, for crying out loud! I needed my best friend. I couldn't forget him._

_I made his face imprint on my brain. His comforting, onyx eyes that always made me smile…his fleeting smiles that made my stomach feel so fluttery…his tussled, midnight black hair…the way I'd lay in his lap sometimes to sleep and the way he'd do the same with me…the way my hand felt when he held it…_

"_That can't be right. Feelings as strong as these don't exist among seven year olds. Still, the machine won't…" Jeb sighed, "If I can't lock away the memories of him, I'll just cloud it."_

"_I really hope you don't see him again," Jeb sighed, "Or this effort will be wasted."_

_White mist clouded my mind, almost but not quite erasing everything I knew about the Flock, my family._

I woke up in a place I didn't recognize. I was disorientated. Why couldn't I remember any of my dream? I looked around in panic. Was I kidnapped by the School? That would be terrible. Truly terrible.

I caught sight of a familiar mop of black hair. Nick? Something about the sight of him made me become even more disorientated.

"Nick? Where am I?" I gasped in fear. Were we both at the school? Was he an Itex spy? Did he sell me to Itex? "This place doesn't look familiar. Are we…are we…?"

"You're in my house," Nick knelt beside me and came so close that I could see the lighter grey flecks in his dark grey eyes, "We were following Gazzy when you fainted."

"Oh," I bit my lip unconsciously. The earlier day flooded back to me and I blushed, mortified from my nervous outburst. I noticed Nick staring at me admirably and I looked away abruptly. How could I have ever even thought that he was an Itex spy? He was…too perfect. And a human, through and through.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Nick asked me openly. His obsidian eyes, which had been so open to me, closed up in embarrassment.

Wow, if I was human…I would have asked him out in a heartbeat. Screw being a girl. I'd be the one to ask him out. But the fact remained, he was human. I…I've fallen for him. I might even love him. I just know that I adore him too much to get him involved in Itex and the School.

"No, Nick. I don't have a boyfriend…and I don't plan to," I forced out that last part. Did I really just think the L word…and about Nick? It surprised me, but…I didn't regret it. I could see it now. I could lean forward and our lips would connect. He wouldn't move away. Nick would be shocked, but he'd go along with it. What I said, about not needing a boyfriend, that was for my benefit, not Nick's.

"Oh," Nick shoved his hands into his jacket pocket, looking bashful. He backed away and I stood up, "Are you hungry?"

"Not really," I laughed. If I started to eat, I'd clean out their kitchen, "Is James here?"

"He's here. I think he's washing the dishes," Nick grimaced before looking at me heavily, "Max…"

_Max, I don't want to be friends anymore._ I feared that was what he was going to say.

"What?" I asked nervously, looking around for escape routes. If anything happened, I wanted to be prepared.

"Stop calling me Nick," was his shocking response, "Call me…call me Fang."

"Fang?" I blinked. Nick, no Fang, looked at me as if expecting me to make fun of him. On the contrary, I found that the name suited him. It was…almost…familiar…

"Yeah," Fang said, looking down at the floor, "But…just when we're alone."

When I was little and Jeb had just put me into middle school, I'd been extremely scared. It was sixth grade and Jeb had more than caught me up, but I didn't know how to deal with people. Once, when a group of girls had approached me, I'd thought that they meant to initiate attack so I tipped over my chair and pressed myself up against the window in fear. I was always too little to win fights with the big mutants. _Max is like a dog,_ they had said, _Just like an animal. Not a human. She's not a human. Max the dog. Her name suits her._ That was when I realized that I liked mutants more than human girls.

"People laugh at strange names," I nodded, accepting his conditions, "Okay, Fang."

**Without further Adieu,**

**A humorous AU of this fanfiction.**

"**Don't call me Nick," he said roughly, "Call me…call me…call me maybe!"**

"**Um…what?" Max was stricken. Fang liked mainstream music? **

"**You took your time with the call," Iggy sung, using a spoon.**

"**I took my time with the fall," Nudge crooned, lying down on the sofa.**

"**But now you're in my way!" Angel giggled from behind the TV.**

"**You beg and borrow and steal," Gazzy sung.**

**Jeb took the frozen Max by her shoulders and herded her out the door, "Let's go."**


	14. Surprise, Surprise

_I shivered as I wrapped my arms around myself. That nice winged boy with the gray eyes was gone, and so was his brother. They were probably doing their tests in the maze, but I was alone or some reason. The whitecoats never did that. Either we were all testing at the same time, or not at all._

_There was a high pitched yelp as a girl was thrown into a cage beside me. The whitecoat escorting the girl slapped her before walking away, a clipboard in her arms._

_I peered at the girl in pity, "Are you okay?"_

_The girl looked at me in fear and confusion, and I noticed that she had wide, dark brown eyes, "What?"_

"_My name is Max," I smiled at her and opened my wings. I'd learned a lot about talking to other mutants because of the boy with the gray eyes and his brother, "Are you okay?"_

_The girl opened her own sparrow wings, "I'm okay. My name is Nudge. Why are you talking to me? No one talks to me. I wouldn't have known how to speak, but some scientists taught me."_

"_Scientists?" I repeated in confusion, "Oh! You mean whitecoats. And why not talk to you? You sound like you like talking."_

_The nice girl giggled, "Yeah. Are there more people that like to talk?"_

_I thought of the two nice boys, "Yeah. I have two friends that like to talk. We call ourselves…the Flock."_

The next day, I waited outside the school at our usual hangout. I wondered who would show up first. Would it be Nudge, who was part of my Flock? I really needed to talk to her about that, since she acted like she didn't remember anything about the Flock.

Or would Fang show up first? I really wanted to see him…and just be near him. We've really gotten close.

Surprisingly, James came first. He blindly came in my direction and I called out to him to let him know that I was here, "Hey, James!"

"Hey Max," he gave me a quick grin as he stood next to me, "So…I hear Nick told you his real name."

"Yeah. It's Fang," I said, even though it was obvious that James knew his real name.

James shoved his hands into his pockets as a blush filled his cheeks, "Fang must really trust you, so I'll tell you my name, too. It's Iggy."

"Iggy," I tested out the name. It felt right, and almost familiar, "Cool name."

He nodded and blushed even more. I wondered why as I saw Nudge approach us. Iggy hadn't noticed her yet.

"Does Nudge like me?" he burst out. My jaw actually dropped, and I heard Nudge squeal, "Um…she's right behind me, isn't she?"

I laughed, "Yeah. She is."

Nudge came up to us quickly and faced Iggy, her face excited, "You actually like me, James? Really? ZOMG! I like you, too! I thought that you liked Ella, but I'm so glad that you like me instead! ZOMG!"

She threw her arms around Iggy, and he blinked a couple times in shock, "I'm…glad that you're glad, Nudge."

I wished that I could enjoy this moment, but how could I? I was capable of looking to the future. What if Iggy was involved in Itex? What if he wasn't? This couldn't end well. What if he took her to Itex? What if he put her in a zoo? What if Itex came and took all of us? How could we bear it if we got them mixed up in everything going on?

"Isn't this great, Max?" Nudge asked me elatedly.

I took her by the arm, "We need to talk. Again," I raised my voice to call to Iggy, "Don't eavesdrop. We're going to be talking about…cramps and stuff."

That excuse always worked with guys. They don't want to hear about it, they don't want to talk about it, and they don't want to acknowledge that it even exists.

I pulled her around a trailer that held my English class and crossed my arms over my chest, trying to calm myself and gather my thoughts.

Nudge started to babble emotionally, "What's wrong with you? This is super great, but then you get upset and drag me away. What's your problem?"

Don't explode, don't explode, don't explode….

"Everything, Nudge! God! Everything is wrong with everything! I'm trying to protect everyone, but that's just impossible," I snapped at her. Oops, I exploded.

Nudge's eyes filled with tears, "What…? Why are you yelling at me? You never yell at me!"

"I'm not yelling, Nudge," I sighed and got a teensy bit of me under control, "I'm just trying to protect my Flock."

"Your Flock?" Nudge covered her mouth with her hand, "Max…Max…you're that girl! You're the girl who led the Flock! You're the girl who took care of me! The girl…who talked to me. OMG, I've been hating myself because for some reason, I just can't remember anything about the School, but I've been having dreams. I've been dreaming about a group called the Flock and a girl who led it…I knew that it wasn't just a dream, but…"

"That isn't the point!" I reminded her sharply, "This is about Iggy and Fang! I mean, Nick and James!"

"What about them?" Nudge asked me, now in confusion.

"You can't be with James. I can't be with Nick. It's…it's not possible," Tears started to run down my face, "Because if we let ourselves love them, then we're putting them in danger. We'd be getting them mixed up in Itex. Do you want to be responsible for Itex taking them? Do you really want to be that selfish?"

Nudge flinched away from me, and it was then that I knew. She'd been thinking about this, too, "I can protect him! I won't let him get involved. Didn't you ever think of that?"

"If we let ourselves love them, then we _will_ tell them!" I argued, "And once we tell them, Itex'll find and capture them!"

She opened her mouth to make a retort, but I stalked away. I broke into run before tears crowded my vision and I tripped…right into the restricting arms of Omega Johansen.

"Why hello, experiment 14-1-25," he whispered with a smirk, "You've hidden from us for _quite_ a long time."


	15. Chapter 15

My mind raced with a million different thoughts at once. How did Omega know? Was Nudge captured? Why was I only being found out now, after living here for years?

"One of our newly stationed spies recognized the name your dad, but the School knows that Jeb only had _one_ daughter. Coincidentally, that girl's name was Max," Omega's bright blue eyes were cruel and disbelieving, "Why don't we just make sure that you're Experiment 14-1-24?"

He actually ripped my light blue button down shirt off me exposing me in just my white camisole. My peregrine hawk DNA clearly showed, with wings sticking out of my back. I struggled against Omega and screamed mercilessly, though there was no one to hear me. Everyone would be inside the school now.

"I'd say that you're her," Omega barked one short laugh, "Hello, Maximum Ride."

FANGPOV

I quickly shoved my arms through my black tee shirt, decorated with skulls. Max would make fun of it and call me emo, but she'd like it. As I shoved my legs into my skinny jeans, I cursed Iggy aloud. He'd messed with my alarm clock and left early, so I was late. He wanted to talk to Max about Nudge and he wouldn't do that if I was there. I hurriedly put on my black sweatshirt before leaving the house.

I started to jog down the street when I noticed something. There was no noise. No cars, no people, no birds…nothing. The silence made the sudden smack of shoes on concrete deafening.

I whipped around to see the little girl that Max was infatuated with, Angel. She was wearing shorts today, so I immediately looked to wear Max said there was an injury. There was nothing but a faint scar.

"Fang," Angel cried out as she barreled into me. How did she know my name, "Fang! Max is in danger. You have to get to her _right now_ or you will never, ever see her again!"

"What?" I asked in shock. Was she hurt? Being followed?

"Fang," she said my name again, "Fly to her. It's the only way you'll be in time."

There was no time to ask the little girl anything. No time to ask how she knew my name, about Max, or about my wings. I just nodded and took to the sky, my pitch black wings too visible in the sky. I didn't care, though. So what if I'm caught by Itex?

I flew over the school when I saw it. There was a struggle, Max fighting against Omega, even though her arms were bound behind her back. She dodged and performed roundhouse kicks like a pro. Max kicked Omega upside the head, but mega barely flinched. With an unrestrained punch, he hit Max and she went sprawling in the dirt.

Why did I wait in the sky, not helping at all? My mind had shut down because of one important fact.

Max, my best friend, had wings. Hawk wings, to be exact. Beautiful, humongous wings that –while expanded- had to be at least fifteen feet long.

Immediately, so many things made sense.

The first day I'd met her, I had run and waited outside. I was caught wondering, why was this girl so familiar? Why did I feel so bound to her? I was so engulfed by my obsession that I'd enabled my sort-of invisibility, and hovered above her, just watching her. When a feather had dropped from my wings, she'd picked it up and looked at it in so much fascination that I'd blanked and flown away.

She'd realized that a mutant, like her, was in this town.

Max hated science. She'd known what recombinant DNA theory was, right off the bat. She was faster than me, and that was nearly impossible. She'd drawn the moment when Iggy had been dragged away for his worst test, but I had written that off as coincidence. The only people that had been there were Nudge, Iggy, Max, and I.

My god. How did I just remember this now? In this moment, thousands of new memories filled my brain. Max and I sharing a cup of water. Max and I huddled up against each other because of the freezing temperature of the School. Nudge talking her head off. Max holding the new baby, whom we had decided to name Angel, while Gazzy looked on with adoration. Jeb watching us all in amusement.

Without another whimsical trip down memory lane, I dove down and pushed Omega to the ground. He, caught off guard, screamed like a little girl.

"Dylan!" he shrieked as the named boy sprinted into view. Dylan worked for Itex? I couldn't believe this.

Dylan halted as he saw what was going on, "Max…? Fang? What's…what's going on?"

"You idiot!" Omega growled as I kicked him with all of my might, "This is Max, your perfect half! Fang is a mutant freak! We have to bring them back to Marian."

"Iggy!" I called, sensing that we'd need backup, "Nudge!"

"Um, I don't really think I want to be involved in this," Dylan sighed as he stuck his hands into his pockets and slunk away, "Ella's waiting for me by the water fountain."

"Didn't you hear me, you imbecile?" Omega shrieked. He knew that he was losing control of the situation, "This girl here is your perfect half!"

"Maybe genetically," Dylan shrugged and walked away, "Make sure that you break his face, Fang."

I'd never liked that boy very much, but…"Will do."

Max, who had just broken out of her handcuffs, started to beat Omega as well, "So…Fang…you're a mutant?"

"Mutant, freak, experiment, Avian American…whatever you want to call it," I said nonchalantly, passing this off as an ordinary occurrence, "So, are you ready to lead the Flock again? I don't think that we can go back to living out cushy lives."

"You remember?" Max looked at me in hope. Omega went limp and passed out, and we both gave up.

"Everything just came back to me when I saw your wings," I confessed and stood up close to her so that we were chest to chest. Her chocolate brown eyes met my onyx ones tenderly.

"Everything just came back to me, too," Max said breathlessly, "You've always been there for me, Fang. I remember everything now."

"I think that both of us need to shut up," I told her as I dipped my head down to her and kissed her.

Our first kiss, I realized. This was our first kiss. We were both wet with blood that wasn't ours, our wings were out for everyone to see, and our normal lives were over.

But the kiss was between us, two people who were very much in love, so it was perfect.

Max wrapped her arms around my neck and I hugged her waist, and we stayed like that for a long, long time. So long, in fact, that we were interrupted by Nudge and Iggy.

"Hey guys…ZOMG! Iggy! Look! They finally got together…and..." Nudge trailed off. The moment was broken, and I sighed as I pulled away from Max. Iggy must have told Nudge his name.

"And they have wings?" Iggy finished dryly. I sent him a glare, which of course was wasted.

"Oh well," Nudge shrugged as she let her own sparrow like wings out, "The birds out of the bag now, isn't it?"

I wondered how this wasn't a surprise to me. I guess since I had regained my memories, nothing School related would be a surprise anymore.

Iggy just froze and turned to wear Nudge was standing, "Did I just hear a pair of wings unfold?"

"Yeah," Nudge enveloped Iggy in a hug, "Maybe I told you that your wings are peeking out under your shirt, sweetie. We're all just one big Flock."

"Not yet," a young girl's voice trilled as Anshould havegel and her brother landed in front of us.

Gazzy went up to Iggy and they fist bumped, "Long time no see, Ignatius."

We'd all been reunited, and I actually smiled a real smile as my hand found Max's. Our family was together. What could possibly go wrong?

Then the shit hit the fan as a small army of Erasers surrounded our group.


	16. Chapter 16

**This chapter is dedicated to Pennycat11. I'm really sad about your grandma, but I'm really glad that you're back.**

**Without Further Adieu,**

Let's just say that my close combat training was nowhere near enough to save us all. I took down maybe three Erasers, Nudge and Fang each took down two, Iggy and Gazzy managed one each, and Angel assisted everyone. That left maybe ten more erasers surrounded us all, and they had guns.

That's why we were all in the back of an Itex truck on the way to the school. They'd bound Fang and my arm's behind our backs, but left the others in a drug induced haze. Clever of them.

The truth is, I wish that I hadn't found the Flock yet. I wanted more carefree time with my friends, without the stress of being on the run. I wanted to take Angel and Gazzy shopping for clothes. I wanted to be like a mother to them. I wanted to go along with Nudge's whims and go on a shopping spree; though I'd hate it, I wished that we'd had that experience. I wanted to help Iggy through town as we got something to eat, and we'd give each other advice. I wanted to go on a date with Fang. I'd have been reluctant at first, I knew, but it would've been really fun. Maybe we'd have gone to the movies or gotten ice cream, maybe both. I...I wanted to have more human experiences.

"How do you think they found us?" I whispered to Fang, pushing down my impossible dreams. They weren't going to happen, so there was no use in indulging in them.

"Dylan knew. He ran away," Fang remarked, theorizing with me, "He could have called for backup."

I shook my head. It was a good theory, but I'd gotten to know Dylan. Dylan didn't do it, "I think that Omega already knew. He might have had backup from the very beginning."

"Maybe..." Fang started his idea, but trailed off, his eyes wide with the possibility of the theory. That expression made me wary.

"Maybe what?" I asked pushily, wondering what could have gotten him to show such emotion.

"Maybe they knew we were all in the area, so they attacked you," Fang looked at me, and even as he said it, we both knew it was true.

If Itex had gotten knowledge that somehow, all of these experiments that they had thought were dead were in the same town, they would've known that they couldn't have gotten us all. At least one mutant would escape their traps, so they choose one mutant that's an influential part in everyone's lives...

"I was bait," I realized, feeling horribly guilty. If I hadn't met any of them, we wouldn't have been in this situation, but if I hadn't met them, Itex would've found them anyway. There's no way that we could win this situation.

Suddenly, Fang started laughing. Not those half hearted chuckles, but bonafide laughter. I stared at him in disbelief. Had Fang gone insane? He never showed this much emotion. Ever.

"Sorry," he gasped, still laughing, "I just realized something."

"What's so funny?" What was he laughing about?

"Bait. You're bait! Bait's a lure used in drawing in and trapping fish, birds, and other animals," I was beginning to think that he'd been drugged as well, "You're perfect. Who could resist you? You're pretty, smart, bossy...perfect!"

"Were you drugged?" I inquired, blushing as his praise reached me.

Fang tipped his head slightly as he thought, his shaggy black hair partially covering his eyes, "Um, yeah. I usually have a high tolerance against drugs, though. Just say no, and all that."

"Great," I groaned. How come I was the only one whose mind wasn't wacked up? The rest were knocked out by the drugs, so maybe Fang did have a higher tolerance. It didn't matter. I was trapped in a small space with a very talkative Fang.

"You know, the first day I saw you, I thought you worked for Itex. I didn't see how anyone could be that perfect," Fang frowned, "But I didn't ignore you. I couldn't avoid you, even if it meant getting captured again."

"That's great," I nodded as I tried to untie the ropes binding me. I had no luck, and I banged my head against the side of the van.

"So you like me?" Fang asked me, giving me the bambi eyes.

"I kissed you, didn't I?" I asked retorically.

"Oh. Yeah," Fang brightened again, "Do you have any powers?"

"Now's not the time to say," I warned him, taking a peak at the Erasers in front.

"Do you have any pets? I had a pet once. His name was Total. Anne brought him home one day but he went back to the School. He could talk. Total was really annoying. He kept talking about books and the _theater_, and he prounced it just like that. Thee-ah-tor. I don't like plays. I like watching the television better. Do you like the show 'The Walking Dead'? My favorite character was T-Bone. It's too bad he died. Do you like 'Revolution'? It would be fun if that show was real. We'd survive for sure."

This was going to be a _long_ ride.


End file.
